Crab Cravings... 



Blue crabs may be bought live or 

 cooked. Or you can catch your own. 

 But because of the difficulty in 

 picking meat from the shell, most 

 people buy crab meat that is cooked, 

 picked and ready to eat. 



Picked crab meat is available in 

 several forms. The four most 

 common are lump, backfin, special 

 and claw. Lump, or jumbo lump, is 

 the large white lumps of meat that 

 come from the area of the body 

 adjacent to the back swimmer fin. 

 Backfin meat consists of some lumps 

 plus other meat from the body. 



Special, also called regular or 

 flake, is the white meat without 

 lumps. Claw meat is often brownish 

 in color and is used in recipes where 

 a white appearance is not important. 



Picked meat is also available 

 pasteurized, which extends its 

 storage life. And you can buy canned 

 crab meat in the supermarket. 



Be especially careful in handling 

 crab meat. Keep crabs alive until 

 ready to cook. Discard any that die. 

 When storing cooked crab meat, 

 place the container in ice and 

 refrigerate it. 



Crab meat is high in protein, low 

 in fat and calories. The meat of the 

 blue crab is moderately high in 

 cholesterol. It contains an average of 

 100 milligrams per 3 1/2-ounce 

 serving. 



For information about cooking 

 and cleaning hard and soft blue 

 crabs, see The Bookstore, page 25. 



Deviled Crab 



1 pound claw or special crab meat 



2 tablespoons margarine 

 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 

 1/2 cup fine, soft bread crumbs 

 1 cup heavy cream 



1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard 



1/2 teaspoon salt 



1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce 



1/4 cup liquid egg substitute (or 1 



egg, beaten) 

 1/4 cup fine, soft bread crumbs 

 2 tablespoons margarine, melted 



Melt 2 tablespoons margarine in 

 a large skillet over medium heat. 

 Saute onion until tender. Add 1/2 

 cup bread crumbs. Add cream, 

 stirring constantly. Add cayenne, 

 mustard, salt and Tabasco. Stir in 

 egg. Gently fold in crab meat. Place 

 in 6 lightly greased shells or 

 ramekins. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup 

 crumbs and drizzle with 2 table- 

 spoons melted margarine. Bake at 

 350 F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until 

 golden brown and bubbly. Serves 6. 



Deluxe Crab Cakes 



1 pound claw or special crab meat 

 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute (or 1 



egg, beaten) 



2 tablespoons reduced calorie 

 mayonnaise 



1/2 teaspoon dry mustard 

 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

 1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce 

 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh 



parsley 

 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh cracker 



crumbs 

 vegetable oil for frying 

 lemon wedges (optional) 



In a medium bowl, place egg, 

 mayonnaise, mustard, cayenne, 

 Tabasco and pepper, and whisk until 

 smooth. Add crab meat, parsley and 

 crumbs, and toss together lightly 

 with a fork. Shape into 6 to 8 patties. 

 Wrap in wax paper and chill for 30 

 minutes. 



Fry in hot oil until golden brown 

 on one side, about 4 to 5 minutes. 

 Turn and repeat on other side. Drain 

 on paper towels. Serve with lemon 

 wedges. Serves 6 to 8. 



She-Crab Soup 



1 pound lump crab meat 

 6 tablespoons margarine 

 3 tablespoons flour 



2 cups light cream 

 2 cups milk 



1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 

 1/4 teaspoon salt 



1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel 



1/4 teaspoon mace 



1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white 



pepper 

 yolks of 4 hard-cooked eggs 



2 tablespoons dry sherry 

 paprika 



In top of double boiler, melt 

 margarine. Blend in flour. Stirring 

 constantly, add cream and milk, then 

 Worcestershire, salt, lemon peel, mace 

 and pepper. Add crab meat and cook 

 slowly for 20 minutes. Do not allow to 

 boil or even simmer. Remove from 

 heat. 



Sprinkle crumbled egg yolks in 

 bottom of individual soup bowls. Stir 

 sherry into soup. Pour into bowls, then 

 sprinkle with paprika. Serves 6 to 8. 



Baked Soft-Shell Crabs 



12 soft-shell crabs, cleaned 

 2 eggs, beaten 

 1/4 cup milk 

 1/2 teaspoon salt 

 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black 

 pepper 



1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

 3/4 cup flour 

 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs 

 6 teaspoons margarine 



Combine eggs, milk, salt, pepper 

 and cayenne in shallow dish. Combine 

 flour and crumbs in another shallow 

 dish. Dip crabs in egg mixture and roll 

 in flour mixture. Place in a lightly 

 greased baking pan. Place 1/2 tea- 

 spoon margarine on each crab. Cook at 

 400 F for 8 to 10 minutes, or until 

 tender and browned. Serves 6. 



COASTWATCH 17 



